Mechanics, Douchebags
It seems a given anymore that if you need work done on your car that you're totally going to get raped in the wallet. Some of these mechanics act like they're the keepers of a secret and powerful knowledge, and you, quite frankly, are insignificant for not knowing it. They treat you as if there is no possible way you could know or comprehend anything about the functioning of your vehicle. Admitedly, there are plenty of people who, when being confronted with the intricacies of auto-mechanica, might as well be hearing a complex geometric proof being explained in French after first being translated from Japanese from Swahili from Farsi. And while there may be some decently wholesome mechanics trundling about the multi-verse I have yet to see much proof of this.
You know, I thought I was doing well with the guys at the local Tireman. I went there for my oil changes, and had had them do some repair work on my car. I needed a new water pump and some hoses. When I had to go back a couple times because there still was some leaking around the hoses the guy was really nice. Even though I was irritated that they hadn't caught the problem before this guy made me feel better about the situation. He said they would keep working until they fixed it, and didn't charge me anything either time I had to go back. He also didn't treat me like an idiot, which I find to be a common problem when dealing with mechanics. They act like having boobs (the girl kind, not the man-boob kind) means your completely incapable of telling the difference between an alternator and an air filter, or being able to understand the basic functioning of the coolant system.
Things had been better at Tireman, at least when this one manager was there. I was even okay when they told me I needed a new cap on the coolant reservoir because the threads were stripped. I hadn't noticed it, but I had been opening it a lot before I got the new water pump because I had to refill the coolant anytime I wanted to drive more than five miles, so I thought it entirely possible.
However, things have gone down hill. Not the last time I went in for an oil change, but a time before that, I asked about my oil light coming on. It occasionally does this when I come to a stop after I've been driving for a while. Concerned, I checked the oil in the car repeatedly, but it was fine. When I asked the guys to let me know if there was some sort of leak or lack of oil pressure and explained about the light coming on the guy looked at me like I was mental and totally asking too much out of him. I asked about it again when I picked up my car, and they treated me like I was a retard who didn't know her place. They told me that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it in a total "duh" tone.
Inquiries with "the Google" have lead me to believe that there is simply a glitch somewhere amidst the wiring. Then, the last time I went in they called me at work, as opposed to on my cell number which I explicitly told them to use, hollering about some oil leak that might be there and they'd have to do a whole expensive test of the system, some other thing, and suddenly my oil dipstick was mysteriously broken. They wanted 35 dollars to replace the dipstick and cap. I was highly irritated, and told them just to finish the damn oil change and not to touch anything else. That was a while ago, and today I finally got around to looking up a new dipstick online. Guess how much it cost me. Eleven bucks. Even with shipping it's still less than the wrenchslingers wanted. Jerks.
You know, I thought I was doing well with the guys at the local Tireman. I went there for my oil changes, and had had them do some repair work on my car. I needed a new water pump and some hoses. When I had to go back a couple times because there still was some leaking around the hoses the guy was really nice. Even though I was irritated that they hadn't caught the problem before this guy made me feel better about the situation. He said they would keep working until they fixed it, and didn't charge me anything either time I had to go back. He also didn't treat me like an idiot, which I find to be a common problem when dealing with mechanics. They act like having boobs (the girl kind, not the man-boob kind) means your completely incapable of telling the difference between an alternator and an air filter, or being able to understand the basic functioning of the coolant system.
Things had been better at Tireman, at least when this one manager was there. I was even okay when they told me I needed a new cap on the coolant reservoir because the threads were stripped. I hadn't noticed it, but I had been opening it a lot before I got the new water pump because I had to refill the coolant anytime I wanted to drive more than five miles, so I thought it entirely possible.
However, things have gone down hill. Not the last time I went in for an oil change, but a time before that, I asked about my oil light coming on. It occasionally does this when I come to a stop after I've been driving for a while. Concerned, I checked the oil in the car repeatedly, but it was fine. When I asked the guys to let me know if there was some sort of leak or lack of oil pressure and explained about the light coming on the guy looked at me like I was mental and totally asking too much out of him. I asked about it again when I picked up my car, and they treated me like I was a retard who didn't know her place. They told me that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it in a total "duh" tone.
Inquiries with "the Google" have lead me to believe that there is simply a glitch somewhere amidst the wiring. Then, the last time I went in they called me at work, as opposed to on my cell number which I explicitly told them to use, hollering about some oil leak that might be there and they'd have to do a whole expensive test of the system, some other thing, and suddenly my oil dipstick was mysteriously broken. They wanted 35 dollars to replace the dipstick and cap. I was highly irritated, and told them just to finish the damn oil change and not to touch anything else. That was a while ago, and today I finally got around to looking up a new dipstick online. Guess how much it cost me. Eleven bucks. Even with shipping it's still less than the wrenchslingers wanted. Jerks.
posted by Winter @ 8:17 PM
4 Comments:
At 9:49 PM ,
Steph said...
I'm sure this is a worldwide problem. I'm yet to meet a mechanic i trust, they're shyster bastards!!
At 3:30 AM ,
Unknown said...
Ugh. My mum used to complain about not being taken seriously by mechanics. It's a bunch of crap, even if they think they're being nice by dumbing things down for you.
In my (admittedly very uninformed) opinion, a speculative oil leak isn't worth worrying about as long as you check the dipstick / driveway regularly. Also remember to check the engine temp from time to time while you're driving - that will tell you if the oil has disappeared through a hole somewhere.
At 3:36 PM ,
colonel eggroll said...
I hate when people get snippy when you ask them to do their jobs, or question their ability to do so properly.
I remember when I took my car to tireman for an oil change and it came back with a light on. I was basically told that it had nothing to do with them even though my car was practically new and never had any issues prior to said oil change. The manager sheepishly admitted to me later that one of his god-like staff had made an error. I pretty much only go to valvoline now.
At 10:46 PM ,
Winter said...
After writing this I realized that both my Grandfather and my Uncle are both quite adept at fixing cars, and they're good people. My Uncle even has his own shop, but they do more of the restoration of old cars. So I'm going to say they don't count. :)
Steph - Nice to know it's not just a local problem, and that I'm not being unreasonable.
Mark - Thanks for the sound advice. :) I've been keeping an eye on it. I'm not losing oil or having any other problems. More fuel for my case against those guys I guess. I've spent enough time over the years working on my cars with my dad over the years that I have a basic knowledge of how they work, just enough to know when I'm being bullshitted.
Colonel - That drives me nuts too. Why is that people get so indignet when you expect them to just do their job?
Like the one time I went in, I knew exactly what was wrong with the car (the pully on the tension arm for the belt needed replaced). I explained this to the counter lad who then gave me the dirtiest look I have ever received from an mechanic. It was nice when they had to tell me that was exactly what was wrong with it.
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